Viera’s Nate Deplancke with 2G/2A, Western’s JP Panchookian with 5 GB’s for FIT; Calvary Christian’s Jason Thomforde with 3G/1A for Limestone

via FIT press release/website, by Christina Hardman

BOX SCORE

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Florida Tech men’s lacrosse traveled to Gaffney, S.C. to take on #3 Limestone for their first road match of the 2024 season. The Panthers outscored the Saints 5-1 in the fourth quarter but were too far behind to comeback, falling 18-12.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: RV Florida Tech 10, #3 Limestone 18
Records: RV Florida Tech (0-1, 0-0 SSC) | #3 Limestone (1-0, 0-0 SAC)
Locations: Saints Field | Gaffney, S.C.

FIRST QUARTER:

• Limestone scored consecutive goals to grab a 2-0 advantage with 7:27 to go in the first quarter.
• Nate Deplancke got the Panthers on the board on an unassisted effort with 5:51 left in the frame.
• With 31 seconds remaining, Cam Johnson found the back of the net to end the period down by one.

SECOND QUARTER:

• The Saints opened up the scoring in the second period, scoring back-to-back goals over a six-second span.
• Austin Engeler scored his lone goal of the day with 12:01 remaining.
• Collin Stewart got into the mix, scoring off a feed from Deplancke to cut the deficit to three.
• Saints went on to score three straight before Deplancke connected with Ben Foster to end the frame down 10-5.

THIRD QUARTER:

• The Saints outscored the Panthers 7-2 in the third period.
• Panther goals came on a long shot from Deplancke with 12:30 on the clock and a rebounded shot from Gavin Stetcher with 1:22 to go.
• Florida Tech had opportunities to cut farther into the deficit during the period but couldn’t break through the Saint’s defense led by Shane O’Leary in goal, who made 6 saves in the third. 

FOURTH QUARTER:

• Tech’s offense came to life in the fourth, outscoring Limestone 5-1.
• Joe Covesleksi would get the Panthers started as he collected a groundball in front of the net after Ricky Fedorchak caused a Saints turnover.
• 1:40 later, Zach Rozgonyi found Colin Olson to trim Tech’s deficit with 12:07 to go.
• Two of Tech’s final three goals came from Covesleski as he completed the hat trick.
• Coveleski scored his second of the day on a man-up assisted by Foster and his third unassisted.
• In between Covelesk’s goals, Cam Johnson netted one from the left side.

COACHES CORNER:
 “Full credit to Limestone; they are fast between lines, pressure all over, and they execute,” said Brad MacArthur. “We showed improvement from our game against Rollins, but there are small parts of our game that are costing us at the worst possible moments. That is something we are going to need to overcome to learn how to be consistent performers.”

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Nate Deplancke led with four points on two goals and two assists.
• Joe Coveleski completed the hat trick for three points and collected three groundballs.
• Cam Johnson tallied two points on two goals.
• Ben Foster recorded two points on one goal and one assist. He also collected one groundball.
• Ricky Fedorchak led the defense with three caused turnovers and four groundballs.
• Garrett Maxwell caused two turnovers and collected two groundballs.
• JP Panchookian posted five groundballs.
• Jax Francsico recorded 11 saves for a .524 save percentage and collected five groundballs.
• Connor Davis recorded seven saves and had a .467 save percentage.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Limestone ended with an advantage in shots (53-37), shots on goal (36-27) and ground balls (63-41).
• Both teams went 17-of-21 on clears.
• Tech was 1-for-7 on man-up opportunities while Limestone was 1-for-3.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 0-3 all-time against the Limestone Saints.
• The first meeting was on February 22, 2020, and the first at Limestone was on March 19, 2016.
• Zach Rozgonyi tied the program record for points with 138.
• Collins Stewart became the eighth player in program history with 100 career points.
• Jack Maranto became the eighth player in program history with 100 career groundballs.
• Maranto also recorded his 200^th career faceoff win.
• Jax Francisco’s five groundballs are a career-high.
• Joe Coveleski’s hat trick was the first of his career.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech back at home Saturday, Feb. 17 to host Flagler. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech men’s lacrosse team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.